Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM
If AM then IFAM – Additive manufacturing from powder to component
A broad spectrum of additive manufacturing processes is being researched at the Bremen and Dresden sites. All of them are characterized by enormous geometric freedom, a high degree of individualization and excellent raw material efficiency. Occuring along the entire value chain: from the generation of 3D data models and manufacturing to the final machining and inspection of the components.
Customized products, increasing diversity of variants, shorter innovation cycles and the balancing act between both small batch sizes and implementation in mass production are challenges that manufacturing companies have to face in today’s competitive environment. At the same time, the efficient use of existing resources in production plays a decisive role in times of increasing resource scarcity, therefore resulting in additional cost pressure. Energy and material efficiency in particular are very important in this context. Production by means of additive manufacturing represents a promising possibility. In addition to the high degree of material utilization, the additive processes also allow completely new designs with lightweight structures or integrated functionality (e. g. flow channels) as a result of the high degree of design freedom, which could not be realized with conventional machining techniques or if it was, it came with disproportionately high costs. Additive manufacturing processes for components with complex shapes thus have great potential for significantly increasing productivity, cost-effectiveness and resource efficiency compared to current manufacturing.
Fraunhofer IFAM offers the full range of metal powder-based AM processes, providing comprehensive access to the various possibilities of additive manufacturing technologies.
The Bremen site has complete process chains of laser beam melting (L-PBF) and metal binder jetting at its comprehensively equipped additive manufacturing technical center.
The Innovation Center Additive Manufacturing ICAM® at Fraunhofer IFAM in Dresden brings together the technologies of Selective Electron Beam Melting, 3D Screen Printing, Fused Filament Fabrication, Gel Casting, MoldJet® and Lithography-based Metal Manufacturing (LMM) under one roof in order to demonstrate the various possibilities of additive manufacturing at one central location.
The portfolio is completed by process control during heat treatment, including debinding and sintering processes, as well as powder analysis.